Eryx POV
The females didn’t settle all at once.
It happened in stages, murmurs softening, footsteps thinning, doors closing one by one as the night finally began to claim the packhouse. The tension lingered in the air long after the corridors emptied, like the echo of a storm that had passed too close to leave no damage behind.
I waited until the last voice faded before I reached for Rachael’s hand.
She let me take it, her fingers cool against my palm, her steps quiet as I guided her down the hall and into our room. The door shut behind us with a muted click, sealing us away from the rest of the world. Light flickered along the walls, throwing warm light across the space, but something between us felt dimmer than it had earlier.
I turned to face her.
She’d changed. Not in any bad way
